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Inktober was started in 2009 and is still going strong today. Mr Jake Parker, the creator of the project, has assigned very few rules

Pick up a pen, draw, hashtag it #inktober, repeat.

Anyone can take part and it seems like artists from all over the world do. I posted a picture and within 2 min 100 more pictures had been posted!

The goal is to practice your drawing skills and develop the positive habit of doing it daily.

Below are a few examples of my own work and a few from others within my surface pattern design community. Click on the pictures below for direct links to their Instagram accounts.

Julie Hamilton

Playing with light and dark. Flower shapes, some seeds and pods and an owl for good measure. When in doubt stick a bird on it.

Julie Hamilton

Next we have Katy Halford. I found it hard to choose between all of her lovely drawings. This one made me smile so here it is

Katy Halford

Mary Tanana made some beautiful drawings on black paper with touches of gold, courtesy of uniball gelpens.

Mary Tanana

Heather Dutton spent her time illustrating every letter of the alphabet with beautiful patterns. Check out her instagram account to see more.

Heather Dutton

Amanda McGee pretty much described all of us with her illustration. I am a big fan of her beautiful hand lettering!

Amanda McGee

Below is Flora Chang of Happy Doodle Land. Her name says it all. She loves to draw. Check out her new colouring book!

Flora Chang

Inktober will be back again next year, but don’t let that stop you from picking up a pen and just busting loose. Until then, feel free to share it with the rest of us on hashtag #shareyoursketch – another fun community to share your creative process.

A little art – Big enough to make your mark, small enough so that you can finish in one sitting.

I am loving Victoria Johnsons #alittleart project. Victoria started this personal project one month ago and invited others to play along. Like all good ideas, this one took off!

The place to play along – Instagram. It even has its own Instagram site to showcase the work of a global bunch of designers.

I admire Victoria’s work – there is a certain free spirit about it that I just love. Her colour combinations are unique. Her style fun and playful.

Below is a little grouping of a few of the experimental pieces she started out with. Visit her Instagram site for more insight on her project and a viewing of her current pieces.

Victoria Johnson for #alittleart

I asked others to share their work to give you a sense of the variety of options there are to play with. The only restriction here is size, 2.5″ wide, other than that it is free game.

There are so many reasons to participate. Here are my top five.

(click on the images below to go directly to the artist websites)

Studiobarabom for #alittleart

1.Little art is manageable. It can be completed in one sitting. If time is not on your side than this is a good way to get creative with little commitment.

Tanasa Elena-Daniela for #alittleart

2.Watercolor, collage, paint, markers, mixed media – anything goes.If you are interested in trying something totally different, than this is the place to give it a try.

Janet Broxon for #alittleart

3. Experimental – small art is a perfect place to try new things! Maybe there is a new technique or a different way of expressing yourself that you are interested in experimenting with. Maybe some new colours,composition or textures. Small art is perfect to play with.

Deborah Velasquez for #alittleart

4.Little art goes Big – I have been using my little art to explore composition and themes for Big art. Think of your little art as a thumbnail sketch for bigger things to come.

Claire Wilson for #alittleart

5. Community – A place to ask opinions, get inspired and meet other like-minded creatives. I love seeing what others are posting and what they are using their little art for.

My little art all lined up. I have been playing around with painted and collaged papers in a grid like form. I have been working intuitively just to see how things go together. From there I have started working on a larger scale with concentration on my composition.

I have to admit I am loving these and excited about the possibility of re-working them into the world of art licensing. I can envision these as greeting cards, art prints, fabric panels, oh the list in endless (I hope!)

More info on that creative process at a later date.

Drop by and give #alittleart a try. If you have any revelations or insight to share about your process, I would love to hear them!

Well it”s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas around here, if only in my head.

My imagination is full of snowflakes and twinkle lights all aglow. Walks in the winter snow and skiing through the woods. Eggnog lattes.

Unfortunately, out my window the rain is pouring down and the weather quite balmy. Not so good when you live in a ski town.

I am thankful for Faye Browns creation of this years #adventchallenge2014. A month-long challenge of christmas prompts to illustrate, photograph, sketch and be inspired by.

I have been enjoying every minute and have to admit it has helped me get in the spirit of the Christmas season.

I have included a few of my favourites to date. I will admit I am already a wee bit behind, but that’s ok with me now ( I had to talk myself down the first day I missed, but now I realize it really is all Ok:)

I like to use these challenges to try new things. Maybe a new combination of colors or some different hand drawn textures. Anything that gets me excited to jump in and get immersed.

I have found this challenge to be a good exercise for practicing my hand lettering and characters, yes….those things with eyes. Why is it always so much easier to just draw a flower?

I will be tweaking all of these designs in the New Year and making them ready for art licensing gigs, but for now it feels good to get some new ideas down on paper. I can play around with them later and add the on trend colours and style.

There are loads of gorgeous designs over on Instagram under #adventhallenge2014. As Faye says herself, popping by the challenge daily is like opening up your very own advent calendar. I have been enjoying all the colour and interesting interpretations of Christmas.

There is still time to join in if interested. There is no pressure to create everyday, but if you have some time and need a little christmas inspiration then this is an easy place to start. Get a head start on your Christmas designs for 2016! All info on Instagram under #adventchallenge2014

Below are links to a few of the designers creating their own advent calendars, either as part of the challenge or own their own accord.

I love the assault of my senses here. The colours and shapes are bright and bold. The temperature and trade winds are gentle on the skin.The saltwater invigorating. And there really is nothing like getting pummelled by the Pacific to really feel alive

I love sitting here listening to the sounds of seaside living.

Lots of birds, crashing waves, the clatter of geckos and the early morning return of the fishing boats back to the bay. There are no boundaries between outside and in. It’s a bit like living in a treehouse

Everything is just so different from my usual back home in Whistler. I think that is what I love most about it here.

I can’t resist the urge to pick up almost everything on my morning runs here. It makes for a bit of a run/ walk, but is always well worth it.
This is generally how my hat returns home..
I often entertain the thought of moving here one day. It’s a topic of conversation that comes up often when we are here. It’s hard to say whether it would lose some of its magic.

For now I will continue to be a dreamer, taking pictures of all that inspires me here. I know it won’t be long until our next visit.

I was thrilled to wake up this morning and discover on Instagram that Michelle Osorio had also been inspired by my #florafoliage series posted there. (you can see them here)

Look at her beautiful, delicate water-colour. I have to say it made my day! You can find Michelle here on Instagram

I am going to milk out this tropical feeling for as long as possible – pineapples are up next week!

I think I may be breaking up with my blog. I am having mixed feelings about it right now.I feel horrible.

It has served me so well and has always been here for me – I talk, it listens. A perfect place to show and tell.

I cannot lie though. I have discovered another.

One that inspires me, motivates me and is oh, so lovely to look at. One that it is so easy to be around and engage with. One that actually comments and shows lots of love. One that I can carry close to my heart and stays by my side..

My new love…Instagram

My goal ~ to post daily about my creative process and finished product. To make more time for my photography. To connect with others in my community.

In our busy world today, it is so easy to find a moment to pick up a phone and connect with Instagram. It is very user-friendly.

There are thousands of beautifully inspiring pictures posted daily. Take some time to explore and discover. Find out what interests and inspires you. Follow others in your field and leave a comment to connect. You just never know, it might just be your next collaboration!

I thought I would share some of my favourite Instagram feeds with you today to help you on your way! These are off the top of my head and they vary from pretty pictures, lovely food styling, great design or just real, interesting people living a life very different than my own.

If you are interested in showing your creative process, please feel free to use the hashtag #shareyoursketch. I started it many months ago and it has gained quite a bit of momentum with people sharing daily. I will be (re)starting a weekly #shareyoursketch column here featuring work from it.

While I am not saying goodbye quite yet, I believe in fair chances for all, I think I am going to try things a bit differently around here. More frequent posts ~ Less words, more pictures. More about what really inspires me!